It’s Not Your Grandma’s Mac and Cheese

Did you ever, as a guilty pleasure, sneak off and down an entire box of mac and cheese? One bite of Ash’s Naked Noodle and Cheese, and you’ll never eat the boxed variety again.

Never.

Ash’s Naked Noodle and Cheese, which just opened in downtown West Chester, is a delight for anyone who loves noodles. Or cheese. Or both. Who wouldn’t love a mac and cheese base that includes cream cheese and sometimes mascarpone? The restaurant is the brainchild of Ashley Melillo, also executive chef and owner of The Bistro at Our Town in Exton. Eight weeks ago she thought it might be interesting to start a separate mac and cheese station in the Bistro since those dishes were so popular. A tip about an open space in Dub-C was all it took for Ash to bring cheesy delights to the borough.

I sampled three of the baked selections, the cheese-stuffed bread and a decadent salad. In addition to baked items, hungry patrons can create their own mac and cheese with a plethora of add-ons or simply top The Naked Noodle (penne) that’s been lightly tossed in olive oil with the same mouthwatering options. The quaint, eclectic restaurant also offers salads and desserts; everything is homemade. Thirsty diners may BYOB, or choose from a selection of Stewart’s sodas, fresh iced tea or bottled water.

First up: Cheesy Bread. More like a cheesy submarine: it was almost two feet long and stuffed and slathered with seven cheeses. Yes, seven! Yet despite all that gooey goodness, the oven-baked Italian baguette still maintained its texture and muscle.

Next up, the “plain” Grilled Cheese. That’s if you consider “plain” to be six cheeses (gruyere, cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, Swiss and goat) dressed with a mini crostini grilled cheese. All Ash’s dishes are made with penne, which hugs the cheese better than traditional elbow-style noodles. Well, the penne positively nestled the goat cheese, which was the star. The goat cheese brought a slight sweetness and a subtle tang to the finish. If there weren’t two more nearly four-pound offerings before me, plus salad, I would have eaten the entire thing.

Ash’s Naked Noodle and Cheese offers 19+ toppings of make your own selections (which can be layered, topped or tossed), yet many of those are also incorporated into the baked dishes. Witness The Mushroom “Muenster,” which highlighted tender portabellas and muenster cheese on the penne and cheese base (seen below, to left). Again, the noodles were cooked to perfection, as was the beefy portabella, which partnered splendidly with the muenster and added an earthy depth to the dish.

Not to be outdone, the final baked offering was The Decadent Crab (seen above, to right), which paired brie and jumbo lump crab, a fitting marriage. Remember, all these toppings must highlight, not overwhelm, the base: no small task. But Ash and her chef, Matt Piccone, hit it out of the park. The thin slices of brie mingled with the crab, and magically did not melt into the rest of the dish. There was just enough pungent brie, but not so much to steal the show. At this point, I was delighted with the prospect of leftovers!

Last, but not least, I tried the Harvest Chopped salad. Having something green after pounds of cheesy wonderfulness seemed beside the point, but lo and behold: the delicate field greens, apple slices, walnuts and mandarin honey dressing was garnished with – you got it – cheese! Two super-generous slices of brie. Since the rest of the salad was mild and sweet, the slightly smoky brie added a great contrast. I took seconds.

Managing Partner Jillian Godfrey runs the front of the restaurant, and notes the prices were kept reasonable to attract foodies, families and students alike. They range from $5 to $12 plus toppings, and $7 to $24 among the baked items; everything is available in medium and large, including take-out. And might I note the leftovers held their own on night two. Anyone who loves noodles, cheese, creative toppings and a friendly neighborhood restaurant atmosphere should give Ash’s Naked Noodle and Cheese a try.

Find Ash’s Naked Noodle and Cheese at 18 S. Church St. in West Chester. Follow them on Facebook by clicking here. Hours of operations are as follows: Sunday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Thursday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.

AboutNina Malone

What firecracker red head loves eclectic cuisine, fine wine, craft beer and creative cocktails–Nina Malone, that's who. Mamma and Pappa raised her right, "making" her try new foods and she's embraced that mantra into her veggie-inspired lifestyle. A frequent traveler to Napa and Sonoma, Nina has an appreciation for great wine and can properly use words like “butter esters" ...and she's also never met a freshly-made seasonal micro brew she didn't like. When Nina’s not leading her team as they bring good-for-you Arbonne products to the masses, she and her hubs can be found with a libation in hand and a plate of something good on the table and telling us all about it.

Owners Jillian Godfry and Ashley Melillo have left to many employees UNPAID!!!!
The total disregard for their employees and past customers is appalling!! What gives these 2 people the right to skip out on paying their employees???
The restaurant that Jillian and Ashley owned in Exton, “The Bistro At Our Town” has been closed by the health dept. Look up the Chester County board of health report online, it is public record.
Jillian and Ashley have left behind a long trail of unpaid debts as well as unpaid employees and vendors. It now appears they have just moved to a new location, changed the name and are continuing all their old tricks!!
I would ask that NO ONE patronize this so called restaurant!! Lying and scamming people does not have a place in this community and should not be tolerated!

How on earth, with all the other previous complaints against her, was Ashley Melillo able to open another restaurant? And How is the Naked Noodle STILL open? I was lied to on a daily basis about when my paycheck would come in, called multiple times to have a “conversation” about the money being direct deposited, then no money ever showed up. Please don’t give this “business” your money. I’m not sure where all the money is going, probably just into their pockets. Ashley and Jill have not shown up for multiple meetings with the Labor Board and have not given us the money that we have all worked so hard for. I can’t believe they are getting away with this.

Owners of the Naked Noodle in West Chester, Jill and Ashley DO NOT PAY THEIR EMPLOYEES!! Scammers? Sounds right. And blatantly ignore notices from the Labor Board. And this is ongoing. Click on the links above for some history.

Poor colleg…e students with loans and rent have not gotten months and months worth of pay. I don’t know how these owners can continue to re-open businesses with different names with all the complaints in their background.

If you’re thinking of going and trying their “delicious” food, because you’ve heard such great things, please think again. Have compassion for these young adults trying to make it in this world and who have worked their butts off and not gotten a penny. Don’t patronize these businesses. Also if their previous restaurant was indeed closed by the health dept., do you really want to eat at any establishment they own??

Nina I meet you at the Naked Noodle on December 15th the day you went there to try the food for your review as I came there to pick my sons Leo & Aaron who had been hard at work trying to get things ready for your visit and so that the owners Jill Godfrey and Ashley Melillo could open this new restaurant. Since the Naked noodle had not passed the Dept of Health inspection the food you sampled on that day was not even made at this West Chester Location. Do you know that all three of the Naked Noodle employees that sat with you at that table Leo, Aaron & Matt have still not been paid for all of their hard work even though they remained Naked noodle employees well into January with no compensation for the hours & weeks of work that they put in. Ashley & Jill are professional Conn artists who have a long history of taking advantage of young people for their own selfish gains. The PA Labor Board has now had to start going after them legally since they have still failed to pay any of their staff. Nina I ask that the West Chester Dish no longer support or recommend any business which fails to pay their staff so that only the owners can benefit financially. This is criminal! DO NOT EAT HERE!!

Do they say they are paying them under the table? Regardless, they are violating the Federal law that involves social security, and taking taxes out, so they are breaking a federal law…which means they can get serious jail time. You need to take these issues to the West Whiteland Police, as well as the State Attorney Generals Office….then they will find how cozy state prison can be.

My daughter quit her very good job at Verizon to go work for these scam artists in their wedding business. I can’t begin to address all of the horrendous things they said and did…including never paying my daughter. They are truly evil and I sincerely hope that they will pay for their illegal business deals. Did anyone know that Miss Ashley ran a Scam Modeling business in NYC? They just keep moving on and ruining other people’s lives.

if you want to find them, look here they will work their way into this community and open another crappy restaurant and not pay people this game is all about getting money from her investors it has nothing to do with food/restaurants or anything other than ashley’s desire to avoid having to get a real job. she is a sociopathic nightmare and seriously mentally ill. she blabbed to her “friends” about her latest predicament and where she was running off to not realizing they innocently shared it with others who she has screwed, time she was called to account legally for her criminal activities.

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